HAIR MASKS, PRIMERS

If your hair is looking a little straw-like after a summer in the sun, a mask can help restore smoothness and shine. Our panel of beauty testers tried 19 to find which ones delivered.

WINNER

Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque, £12.75, feelunique.com

Our winner performed well in our lab test, and even better with our testers. They found it easy to apply, without any mess, and that it left their hair looking smoother and shinier without greasiness. Great for colourtreated or coarse hair. 86/100

RUNNERS-UP

Starskin Nourishing Hot Oil Hair Mask, £8.50 for one, beautybay.com

This mask – which needs to be microwaved for 20 seconds to heat up – scored highly in our lab test. Our testers found it simple to use, leaving hair soft, shiny and less frizzy. It was easy to wash out, and left hair with a coconut scent. It comes with a heat-retaining cap to help the product absorb into hair. 85/100

Redken All Soft Mega Recovery Sheet Mask, £10 for one, redken.co.uk

A single-use treatment inspired by facial sheet masks, this product-laced cap is easy to use and mess-free. It did well in our lab test and testers said it gave their hair a really deep condition, leaving it much smoother. It’s specifically formulated for severely dry hair but testers with a range of hair types liked it. 85/100

HOW WE TESTED

A panel of 399 testers tried 19 hair masks for a week, assessing how easy they were to apply and how smooth and shiny their hair was after use. For our lab tests, we used our Diastron machine to measure the smoothness of hair switches after being treated with product and then blow-dried.